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ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE #1

by Doug Warren on December 06, 2017

Written by Ryan FerrierIllustrated by Ian McGintyColored by Fred C. StresingLettered by Jim CampbellPublished by kaboom!

Up front, I have to tell you: I am biased. Rocko’s Modern Life was possibly my favorite TV show from my childhood. The 1994 comic book series was for years the only comic book run that I owned every issue of. And, while you may think that will make me lean towards the positive side, praise it no matter what, let me say, that’s not the case. I’ve become more cynical the older I’ve gotten. If you touch something sacred from my childhood, you better do it justice. If you pull some of that Ghostbusters reboot crap on it, well, that’s just plain unforgiveable.

With that said, this is an amazing comic book. It does the original series proud. The artwork is 100% true to the original series. Even things as simple as frame shapes serve to give the Rocko feel that fans are wanting. And the way it’s transitioned from the 90s to the 2010s is seamless. It’s how the show would feel if it had been on the air continually for the past 25 years and just naturally evolved. Kudos to Ferrier for that.

The plot was simple, but it did a good job of reintroducing all the characters. When Rocko gets fired from his menial job at the beginning of the book, we see he is still the same loveable schlub he’s always been. His friends try to “help” him out, and we are right back where we left off in 1996. There was one line where I thought Filburt’s dialog was a bit forced to show the audience that he was the same neurotic turtle that he was in the original series, but only one line of dialog in the entire comic book that I found something to say about, well, that says a lot about the rest of the book.

If you’ve never experienced Rocko’s Modern Life before, this is the perfect introduction to it. If you are a fellow fan of old, well, you have no excuse. Buy this comic. You will love it.